“We are excited to meet the hands-on needs of our students with these new classes,” said Head of High School Jay Huston. “As the world gets more digitized, it's important for schools to keep learning tangible, and that's exactly what these classes do.”

New courses for the 2016-2017 academic year include Agriculture, Physical Concepts, and Systems of the Human Body. All of the courses focus on project-based, experiential learning.

“More than just gardening, this class will be working the land to develop the soil, harvest rainwater, and—ultimately—grow food,” said Agriculture Teacher Aaron Carter. “It will take some time, but we're actually not starting from zero. Our school compost is maturing as we speak.”

At the moment, students are installing a drainage system and clearing out years of overgrowth and neglect.

“I like that we get out of the classroom and get fresh air,” said a high school senior. “I also like learning to use all the new tools, especially the pick axe!”

Students are also stepping out of the classroom in Physical Concepts.

“We made an eight-foot tall pulley system in the back alley that can lift hundreds of pounds with only two students pulling,” said one student.

In this class, students test basic laws of physics after building models, systems, and machines that demonstrate the lesson at hand. Currently, students are learning about how the relationship between weight and distance from a fulcrum determines leverage.

“We’re learning about mathematical concepts in a fun way,” said a high school senior, “...and we’re using what we learn to make a frog-launcher for the Halloween carnival.”

In Systems of the Human Body, students will learn about the interconnectedness of the many systems that keep us alive and make us thrive.

“This class is a more hands-on approach to learning the basic concepts of biology and anatomy,” said Jay, who teaches the course. “From fitness tests to investigating animal bones to dissection activities, we are going to look at all parts of this amazing machine we call our body.”

Right now, students are finishing up a unit on bones.

“I like learning about how bones are alive and support the human form,” said a freshman student in the class. “If I didn’t have bones, I’d be like a squid or a puddle.”

This year, Stanbridge Academy decided to revise its school-wide behavior plan and premier a brand new Star Sheet for tracking student goal progress.

“Looking at the system with our behavioral consultant, Steven Forth, it was decided that simplifying it would lower student anxiety and provide clarity for teachers and parents/guardians,” said Director of Counseling Mary Stadler.

Changes include removing the Zones of Regulation color codes from the Star Sheets, adding a school-wide goal upon which all students across divisions focus for a period of time, and adding one or two personalized goals.

“The new star sheet is much better than the one last year,” said a high school senior. “It’s more basic, less complex. Because there are fewer goals, it’s easier to concentrate on them.”

As with the previous system, each student carries Star Sheet each week for tracking his or her goal progress. As goals are met, the students receive points and—for students in kindergarten through 8th grade—those points are converted to Stanbucks. Stanbucks can then be exchanged for prizes at the Stanbuck Store.

“The Stanbridge Store teaches students about everything from math and self-advocacy to delayed-gratification and social skills,” said Counselor—and Stanbuck Store Cashier—James Warren.

Stanbucks are paid out on Friday mornings, just before the opening of the Stanbuck Store. Students may either spend their Stanbucks immediately or save them for more expensive items.

“I actually really like this better than the old system,” said a junior high student. “I like the positive reinforcement instead of having the negative reinforcement hanging over my head.”

Despite the array of prizes available at the Stanbuck Store, high school students will not participate in the Stanbuck system this year.

“The Stanbuck Store prizes weren’t inspiring the high school students, and they didn't care about STAR sheets,” said Head of High School Jay Huston.

To create a more effective incentive plan, high school introduced a new program where each student chooses his or her own reward. It is then determined by the student and his or her advisor how many points it will take to earn that reward. Popular requests include Gatorade sports drinks ( approximately 100 points) and Amazon gift cards, although some students requests are more unique.

“We decided to pool our points and as a reward we get a pizza party for our whole advisory,” said two high school seniors in John Barnett’s advisory. “This system is much better than the old one, because we each get to choose what we want.”

Stanbridge faculty and staff participated in a full week of orientation and professional development preceding the first day of school. In addition to readying their classrooms, teachers were supported in their preparation for the 2016-2017 academic year through trainings on everything from software applications to CPR.

“As a new faculty member, staff week was a great way to meet new people and gather a lot of information in a short period of time,” said Sixth Grade Teacher Lynsey Plume.

“The beginning of a school year is an exciting time filled with creativity, optimism, and energy,” said Principal Matt Poynter, who led the staff week program planning. “It is a good time to be reminded of the philosophical underpinnings of our work and of the nature of our mission.”

A majority of the training focused on three important student outcomes that encompass the work we do at Stanbridge:

we want our students to develop a positive self concept;

we want our students to maximize their capacity for self-regulation; and

we want our students to maximize their academic competence.

​“Our strengths, talents, and special interests inform our self-concept,” said Matt. “Seeing our students through that lens gives us insight into how to engage them, how to make them feel respected and valued, and even how to mitigate their challenges.”

​In addition to considering the implications of seeing students and colleagues from a strength-based perspective, the staff spent considerable time thinking and learning about self-regulation and how it relates to sensory processing (SP).

“The $16k Stanbridge raised duringSilicon Valley Gives 2016 was earmarked to enhance our support of students needing occupational therapy and sensory integration,” said Head of School, Julie Smith. “Based on input from faculty and parents, we engaged an occupational therapist to provide a series of workshops with our teachers during our in-service week.”

Cassie Eveans, an occupational therapist with Firefly Center who is familiar with the Stanbridge program, held a general session on SP with the entire faculty and staff followed by two breakout sessions—one for elementary and junior high teachers and another for high school teacher.

“It is important to consider the demands and expectations of students as they progress through to higher grade levels,” said Firefly Center Assistant Director Holly Restrani. “Younger students may have more movement activities throughout their school days, while also having to contend with more visual and auditory stimulation in the background during formal instruction (e.g. peers fidgeting on the carpet during circle time). Older students are often expected to sit for long periods of time, copy extensive notes from the board or from verbal lecture, and align mathematical equations.”

Following the workshops, teachers were able to request certain tools—from noise-cancelling headphones to wiggle seats and fidgets—to help students maximize their learning potential in class.

“There are many ways that classroom teachers are already including this knowledge in their daily teaching, and we know that this provides additional support for our students,” said Julie.

“All of our students learn in a slightly different way, and it is important for us to provide tools and materials that will elicit the best results from them. A standing desk allows students that need to move a bit more than others an opportunity to do so without causing a disruption to their peers,” said High School Teacher John Barnett, who currently has such a desk in his classroom. “It is my hope that I can have the standing desk in my class for a little bit and see how it goes. If it is a success, then we can discuss the possibility of getting additional seating options in other classrooms.”

All of these tools lay the groundwork for the core of the Stanbridge program: the classroom experience.

“Staff Week gives us a chance to put thoughtful systems, schedules, and routines in place, and provides the foundation for a year of curriculum enrichment, discipline-specific training, and professional development,” said Matt.

“The positivity of the staff this week has been reassuring and makes me excited to start the new year,” said Speech and Language Pathologist Kari Schaiman.

When I was in preschool I moved from California to China and attended a bilingual school. In kindergarten I was playful. But in my old school in China, each class had one Chinese speaking teacher and one English speaking teacher, which helped me improve both my Chinese and English skills. However, each class had 32 students making it overcrowded and difficult to find friends. Also, at my old school, homework was very overwhelming, I often had to stay up until midnight with my parents to finish it. To find a better learning environment, I transferred from Shanghai to Stanbridge Academy in the sixth grade. Before coming to Stanbridge I was so shy and stressed that I would not talk to anyone at school. The first time I visited, Susan give me a tour of the upper elementary classrooms. I was surprised by how close and friendly people were. They called each other by first names, even the teachers, and also knew a lot about each other. My parents decided to let me shadow at the school for a day. Then, in the summer of 2008, I attended a mask making summer camp with Camille and an explore the bay area camp with Mark. The teachers and the students were all very kind. At Stanbridge, I made so many friends that I think of the school as my second family. I also become an athlete and a creative thinker. I had fun with my new classmates. I love the Stanbridge community and I’m glad that my parents to send me here.

At Stanbridge, I am influenced to be creative, to be an explorer, to be comical and to be a learner. Stanbridge taught me how to go camping, how to be independent, and how to take public transportation. Having Camille as an art teacher influenced me to express myself with art. All the art experiences I’ve had with her taught me about color and patience. I really enjoyed being on the yearbook design team. On experiential trips, teacher chaperones would often encourage us to go out of our comfort zones. During the Aptos Wolf School trip during my sophomore year, I was nervous to go on the flying squirrel rope course. But after cheers and motivation from my classmate and teachers, I was not afraid anymore. Additionally my teachers at Stanbridge understood my situation and helped me overcome my speech barriers. They coached me to speak loudly or repeat sentences.

Kari also helped me with my articulation and social skills. Over the years, my confidence has grown, and I have become more expressive and sociable. I speak with self assurance in class and often advocate for myself. I was even chosen as the Freshman representative from teachers and got elected for student government secretary twice. This also encouraged me to participate an internship at Zennioptical. I also enjoyed all the community service activities that I participated over the month.

I’d like to thank my dad, all of my teachers, and my classmates who all helped me to achieve my goals. Thank you Jay for teaching me science. Allison for teaching me how to use grammar over the years. Matt for being my funny math teacher. Mark for teaching me all the nuts and bolts of sports. Maureen for teaching me, you are a great teacher. My dad for helping me to get into my dream schools. Miss Alex and Jay for convincing me to draw a blackbird at the talent show during my Sophomore year. Erik for coaching me in hockey. I would especially like to thank Ali for giving me the definition and pronunciation of every word I did not know in class and the air guitar playing Jace for being my friend. I am also thankful for my sister who assisted me with my college application, my mom who helped me find a school, and my grandma who motivated me to get through every problem I faced. You are one in a Minion.​Next year I am going to St Mary’s college, a four year school in Moraga. I will be living in a dorm next year and will learn how to become more independent. I hope to continue my studying art in college so I can fulfill my dream of leaving my brushmark on the world.

You are a Learning Specialist. What does that mean? What will you be doing here at Stanbridge?​A large part of my work as the Learning Specialist at Stanbridge Academy is to support teachers in meeting the instructional needs of their students. This could mean offering ideas, resources, and teaching strategies they may not not be familiar with from their own teaching experience. It may also mean working directly with students individually or in smaller group settings. Another part of my work here is to help teachers understand and address the specific learning goals of their students. I will also play a part in managing our relationships with school districts through the IEP process.

What led you to join our unique community?My background as an educator includes teaching experience in both general and special education classrooms in grades K-12, however the majority of my experience has been teaching students in grades 4-10. Most recently, I have been an instructional coach for special education teachers in Massachusetts. The most unique assignment I have held was in the role of computer coordinator and classroom teacher at an international school in Germany. I chose to come to Stanbridge primarily because of my strong desire to support students who learn differently and the growth of their teachers.

What is one fun fact about yourself?I was in a volleyball league many years ago, and our underdog team went on to win the championship game!

Stanbridge Academy is a caring, inclusive K-12 school for students with mild to moderate learning differences and social communication disorders. We use an individualized, whole student approach so that students thrive and develop their academic, social, and emotional capabilities to their fullest potential.